Chennai to host 42nd World Bridge Championships 2015

For the first time, India will play host to the biggest event of card games –42nd World Bridge Team Championships 2015. It will be held at Chennai from September 26th to October 10th 2015 at the ITC Grand Chola. HCL is the title sponsor for this tournament. 66 Teams, 660 players from 40 countries will vie for the prestigious Bermuda Bowl Trophy.

The World Bridge Federation (WBF) is the apex body that conducts the World Bridge Team Championships every two years. This is the premier tournament in international bridge and sees the top teams from each geographic region competing against one another for the Bermuda Bowl trophy. Additionally, there are separate trophies for the top women`s team “Venice Cup“ as well as the top senior team “D`Orsi Trophy” globally.

On his official visit to Chennai to oversee the preparations for the WBTC 2015, Mr. Giannarigo Rona, President, WBF, said he was very impressed with the top class infrastructure available in Chennai to host such a big world event. To quote Mr. Rona, he said “More importantly, the passion and dedication of the entire team of Bridge Federation of India [BFI] led by Mr. N.R. Kirubakaramoorthy, President and Vice Presidents Mr. S. Sundaresan and Mr. Kawaljit Singh, has convinced us that this will be one of the greatest tournaments ever conducted bringing laurels to both India and to BFI.”

Mr. N.R. Kirubakaramoorthy, President, BFI added that “this mega tournament will promote the game in India especially among the youth. BFI has plans to attract younger players from all over India by reaching out and encouraging them to participate in local and national events also. There is lack of awareness and people need to know that card games also encourage strategic thinking which helps in critical decision making.”

Citing an example, he made a mention of Raibeedpura, a remote village in Madhya Pradesh, where over a 100 children, were taught to play Bridge which resulted in a marked improvement in their academics whichhas encouraged BFI to do more for school children. Regional “Bridge” events are also being used as a platform to build additional awareness and visibility for the WBTC – 2015, the recent events being “National winter Bridge championships” held in Jaipur, the TVS Ratnam Memorial, Chennai and the Bridge competition held in Indian Gymkhana, Mumbai.

HCL, the title sponsor for this championship was represented by its Chief Marketing officer Mr. Mahalingam Sundararajan who emphasised the importance of “Bridge” and its association with the corporate world. Mr. Sundararajan spoke about HCL’s commitment in promoting “Bridge” in India.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Mahalingam said “It is a great privilege for HCL to associate itself with the World Championship as its Title Sponsor. As technology brand originally, HCL operates in a dynamic environment that need strong strategic focus and quick decision-making abilities for success which is very similar to the attributes one needs in the game of bridge. This makes the game a natural fit for Brand HCL”.